SAINTS fans are set to return to St Mary's Stadium later this month.

The club has outlined the process for selecting season ticket holders who will be able to watch Saints take on Sheffield Wednesday on December 13.

A Saints spokesperson said: "The club has listened to views from fan groups regarding the fairest process for selecting which season ticket holders are able to attend reduced capacity games at St Mary’s.

"The consensus from these fan groups is that the club should look to recognise the dedication of fans, giving priority to long-standing season ticket holders that have attended the majority of matches in recent seasons, both home and away, while also ensuring there is a fair opportunity for all Season Ticket holders, including Seasonal Hospitality guests, to attend games.

"Based on this criteria, there will be small groups who will be invited to attend either each home game, or alternate home games, with the remaining tickets available to general admission Season Ticket holders through a ballot of the 10,000 eligible supporters who have confirmed they would like to attend matches.

"Following the ballot, general admission Season Ticket holders that are selected to attend the Sheffield United match will then not be considered for selection for upcoming matches in future ballots until all Season Ticket holders that would like to attend matches have done so.

"This does not apply to the small groups attending either each home game, or alternate home games.

"Season Ticket holders that are not selected or have confirmed to the club that they do not wish to be considered for selection shall receive a pro rata refund for the game.

"A limited number of tickets for Seasonal Hospitality guests will be available, including tickets that fulfil contractual obligations to the club’s partners.

"The club would like to thank all partners for returning either all or the majority of their tickets to the ballot to enable more Season Ticket holders to attend matches, sharing the club’s view that we should recognise the dedication of our fans.

A total of 2,000 tickets will be available.

The allocation will include 62 fans that have held their season ticket for more than six years and have attended every match home and away last season, 176 fans that have held their season ticket for more than four years, attending at least 95% of home games and 66% of away games last season.

A further 1,319 season ticket holders will be selected through the ballot.

Some 20% will go to sasonal hospitality guests and club partners, including 241 guests who have held their box or lounge tickets for over six years continuously.